The news of the death of author Daniel Dennett, on April 19, had little repercussion. But less than two decades ago, he was one of the most controversial figures in public debate in the United States and the United Kingdom.
In 2006, Dennett released the book that would be translated into Portuguese as “Breaking the Enchantment — Religion as a Natural Phenomenon”. Along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, he would become known as the “four horsemen of atheism”. The group gained space in the media in a world that, after September 11, was waking up to the potentially harmful effects of religious fanaticism. The quartet’s argument was radical: the sooner the world gets rid of religions (all of them), the better.
Times are different now.
Coincidentally, days before Dennett’s death, the group’s best-known member had made a statement that indicated a change in stance.
In an interview with British radio LBC in early April, zoologist Richard Dawkins said he feels “culturally Christian.” “I believe that, culturally, we are a Christian country, and I consider myself culturally Christian. I love hymns and Christmas songs. I feel at home in the Christian ethos,” he said.
It’s a significant change in Dawkins’ stance, who in the past equated all religions as a “delusion.”
But he wasn’t the only one to follow this path.
Islam and radical ideology grew in the vacuum of Christianity
Each in their own way, other public figures seem to have started paying more attention to the consequences of the emptying of traditional religion in the West. As the influence of Christianity ceases to be dominant, it gives way to progressive radicalism or Islam, which tend to be much less tolerant of the individual freedoms so dear to atheists.
Last year, acclaimed writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali announced that she had converted to Christianity. Like Dawkins, she came to the conclusion that not all religions are the same. Raised in a Muslim family, she had lost her faith decades earlier. “Every seemingly secular kind of freedom—of the market, of conscience, of the press—has its roots in Christianity,” she wrote, explaining the journey that led her to the Christian faith.
Dawkins, for example, picked a fight with left-wing movements by saying, as a genetic biologist, that differences between the sexes are objective and immutable. Furthermore, his statement about “cultural Christianity” was a reaction to the display of Islamic verses on the billboard at King’s Cross train station in London during Ramadan.
The geneticist concluded that, of the available alternatives, Christianity seems to be the one that most respects common sense and individual rights. To varying degrees, other atheists have followed a similar trajectory. The list includes British writer Tom Holland, who became Catholic, Canadian author Jordan Peterson, who walks between belief and disbelief, and American TV presenter Bill Maher, who remains as atheist as before but has started to criticize excesses of progressive groups.
Phenomenon is the theme of a new book
British author Justin Brierley has spent the last few years interviewing former atheists who have come to believe. Graduated in Philosophy at the University of Oxford, he recently released a book and a series of podcasts on the subject.
Brierley spoke to People’s Gazette.
According to him, Dawkins’ trajectory is similar to that of other nonbelievers. “I’m seeing this more and more frequently among atheists, even some who were very anti-Christian (like Dawkins) in the past. I think they are increasingly realizing that the values they believe in are a product of their Judeo-Christian heritage,” he says.
In Brierley’s opinion, the consequences of the religious hollowing out of countries like England have become more evident in recent years, which has made many atheists rethink the consequences of a radical view against religion. “As other value systems begin to threaten this heritage, (for example, woke ideology or left-wing authoritarian regimes), they begin to realize that Christianity has been good for our culture,” says Brierley.
He also noted an increase in the number of religious (and not just cultural) conversions of atheists to Christianity. He says that the most frequent reason is contact with Christians who helped him dispel prejudices about the church.
“They have contact with caring, kind Christians who help them overcome their prejudices about Christianity and the church. This breaks down the barrier and allows them to start taking Christianity seriously,” he says. Next, he says, the most common reasons for converting from atheism to Christianity are an emotional experience that led them to faith in God, or intellectual arguments like clues that point to the design of the universe.
The latter, for example, is what led the celebrated philosopher Antony Flew from atheism to belief in God (although Flew never became a Christian). Author of the influential “The Presumption of Atheism”, from 1976, he attributed his existential turn to the advancement of cosmology and biology. The news became public in 2004. Three years later, Flew published a book that, in Portuguese, was titled “God Exists — The Indisputable Proofs of a Philosopher Who Didn’t Believe in Anything”.
Community is an important element in conversion
A scientific article published in 2019 by Journal of Religion & Society also investigated what leads atheists to convert to Christianity.
The study analyzed 111 conversion reports posted on internet forums looking for common elements. The majority of former atheists (53%) mentioned having realized the importance of participating in typically religious activities, such as going to church and praying. Half also cited intellectual discoveries in science or philosophy. Furthermore, 45% reported a supernatural experience (the answers were not exclusive, which is why the sum exceeds 100%).
A People’s Gazette spoke with one of the study authors. Matthew Facciani — who has a doctorate in Sociology and is a researcher at MIT, says that this type of shift usually involves more than one reason, and often begins with a social bond.
“Many of the aspects we found in atheists who converted to Christianity were common in other studies of religious conversion. For example, many individuals who were atheists mentioned an important social tie that led them to Christianity. The need to belong and find community is powerful and often guides what we believe”, says Facciani.
New religious wave on the way?
There is little doubt that, in general, Western countries are experiencing a period of decline in religiosity. On the other hand, if it is true that traditional religion continues to decline, the number of atheists has not grown at the same rate. And there are even signs that Christianity is growing again in unlikely places.
In Finland, a country with a large number of atheists, the number of religious young people appears to be increasing. A survey by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland showed an increase in religiosity among young men. Between 2011 and 2019, the number of young people aged 15 to 19 who say they believe in God increased from 19% to 43%. The share of those who go to church every month went from 5% to 12%.
Justin Brierley says the church he attends in England has also grown. “Several surveys also appear to show high levels of openness to faith among young people. I see signs that the ‘tide of faith’ is beginning to turn, as many secular intellectuals urge their audiences to take Christianity seriously again,” it says.
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